By Mark Saldana
Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars)
From Spain this amusing and somewhat deep comedy features a fantastic performance by it lead actress. Patricia Jordá stars as Marisa, a vivacious young woman whose life and happiness has been on hold for too long. Lost and aimless, Marisa dedicates her life and most of her time to helping her friends and loved ones with their problems. When she can no longer help one of her best friends and the rest of her friends have moved onward, Marisa is still stuck with her own personal struggles and cannot avoid them any longer.
Written and directed by Antonio Morales, Marisa En Los Bosques is a rather amusing film that eases into a personal crisis drama for its lovable, but troubled protagonist. I found the film more absorbing when it takes a more dramatic turn. Though I enjoyed most of the funny misadventures and comic exploits of Marisa, I feel that not all of the humor works as well as it should. Morales goes more for quirk rather than attempts silly, over-the-top craziness, but I wanted more hearty laughs from his colorful characters and comedic scenarios. Still, I found myself captivated with the lovely and charismatic Patricia Jordá who gives an outstanding performance as Marisa, a woman who would rather fix other peoples troubles than face her own.